IRL Journals
by gmstone1998
Summary: A journal, I guess you could say, of the daily life of a singer, writer, and band geek.
1. IRL1: Basic Info About Me

As celebration for almost 1,000 views on my first-ever story, I decided to post a 'biography' thing to maybe get to know me better. I'll start out with the basics.

Favorite color: Blue, though as a kid I worshiped the color purple. I've grown out of it.

Favorite food: That's a hard one. Macaroni and cheese, though I don't mind strawberries occasionally.

Favorite game: Minecraft, duh.

Favorite sport: Haha, you're funny. I don't do sports, but I guess marching band counts. I'll explain that later.

Hobbies: I like to sing, write, play video games, and be in band. I don't write as much as I used to, with my free time gradually being sucked away because of high school, but (as evidence by my Minecraft story) I do try to sit down and write now and again. But my two greatest passions by far are singing and band.

Let's see...interesting facts about me...

My eye color changes with my mood. Normally they are blue-gray, but when I'm sad or another strong emotion, they turn green. Apparently my dad's do that too.

I'm left-handed, and proud of it.

Hmm...that's about it. See you guys later!


	2. IRL2: Why I'm a Band Geek

In this 'chapter', I guess I'll tell you all the story of how I became a band geek.

It all started in 5th grade, when tryouts for band starts at my school system. I thought being in band would be cool, so I could tell people, 'Hey, I can play an instrument!' or stuff like that. My older sister, who was a grade older than me, was in percussion and an absolute prodigy even then (she was a bass drum on drum line as a freshman and is now a snare if that tells you anything). I didn't know what I wanted to play, but I wanted to be in band, so when the open house at the middle school came up, I was all for it.

I tried clarinet first, because it seemed unique. Mr. G, the woodwind teacher and director at the high school, was an old and intimidating man for a kid my age (he definitely doesn't seem like that now). He held a clarinet in front of me and told me to blow really hard into it. I did, and almost laughed as he fingered the tune of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' as I about busted a lung. As he finished, I asked him if I could try oboe. 'No, it's too hard.' was is simple response.

I then went into the brass room, not even bothering with the percussion. I stood in a line, looking at all the brass instruments laid out. Some I didn't even know the name of. When it was my turn, I asked Mr. K, the brass teacher, to try trumpet. It was small and seemed cool and versatile. He handed me one, and told me to buzz my lips and blow. I did, and it sounded like a dying donkey if I remember correctly. I couldn't get my mouth tight enough. Thinking, Mr. K takes the trumpet and gives me a tuba. A TUBA. He gave me the same instructions, and I made a semi-decent sound. He nodded and told me that it was impressive. Later, as I waited in line to sign up for my instrument, I was torn between clarinet and tuba. My mind told me clarinet, and that it would be easier, but my heart told me otherwise. I chose tuba. Now let me tell you, if I had known what I was getting myself into, I might have made that choice.

The first semester as a 6th grader began, and I was okay, not great, but okay. Mr. K told me I should take lessons. At my school, high schoolers could sign up to teach the younger kids their instrument (for some money of course ;) ). It was proved that students who took lessons were surprisingly better at playing after getting instruction from these high school kids. As I came to the high school one afternoon, I heard a symphony of different instruments echoing down the band hallway. I chose a tuba from the pile of beat-up cases, and I went to the practice room, where my peer teacher would be waiting.

My teacher was named Bradley, a freshman, but one of the best tubas they had. I was hesitant, but his quirky personality and overall skill he showed motivated me to try harder and practice longer. He became my role model, and is to this day. After taking these lessons, Mr. K immediately noticed a change in me. I could actually play. Fast forward to my 8th grade year, and I was first chair in the section. Mr. K called me a prodigy. I was taking Group I solos and got into the Jr. All-State Band. But then, (dun dun dun) came marching band.

At my school, you begin marching band practice the summer after your 8th grade year. I was nervous to say the least. I was the only freshman tuba going marching band. Oh, and I WAS A GIRL. My older sister pleaded with me to switch to baritone or anything else because she knew how heavy tubas were. She didn't think I could handle it. And I didn't either.

There were five tubas at the time. Nick, Alec, and Bradley were the seniors, Taylor was a sophomore, and Collin (a junior) was originally a mellophone but switched for this year. Nick was (and I'm not trying to be mean here) a tuba with a trumpet ego. He was loving how he was a senior and could boss people around. Alec was odd and intimidating, and liked to scare the freshmen. And Bradley...what can I say? He was amazingly talented, excelling in everything he put effort into. And he was modest, stating he didn't think he was as good as people said he was. He was the section leader, hands down. I didn't know Taylor very well; he was quiet and didn't talk to me much, but was good friends with Bradley. The two of them were like peas and carrots (to quote Forrest Gump). Collin didn't know much about being a tuba, that's all I can say.

Band camp was tough. I struggled under the weight of my tuba, even though it was a small one because I was a freshman. It took me a while to grasp the concept of marching. I was constantly monitered by Mrs. P (we literally call her that). She was a hardcore band mom that was a tuba herself in high school, and now watches over the tubas. I was like a younger version of her, and she pushed me the hardest to be perfect like Bradley. As the week went on, it became easier, but still was a lot of work. I had never imagined how much went into a marching band show. I owe my survival of band camp to my tuba section, who were a huge help in lifting my spirits went things got tough, and the support of my freshman friends who struggled with me.

The pressure on our band that year was intense. The year before, they had narrowly won the state competion for the first time in 40 years, and the town was craving a second win. You could see it in our instructor's eyes that they wanted another victory badly. That show had been titled 'Trinity' and had some religous-themed songs in it. This year, our show was called 'Angelic Voices' or 'Waking Angels', or something along those lines. Mr. G could never make up his mind about what it was called. It was pretty much a sequel to Trinity, and everyone knew it. A common phrase that Mr. G said a lot was that "It's not a religous show" but we all knew it was.

The thing that most people don't realize about marching band is how competitive it can be. Our biggest rivals were some of the northern bands, who were larger (some had 200+ members) and could fill up a statium easily. But our band had highly skilled members who could outshine the larger bands because of the difficult music we were capable of doing. We were the underdogs, but because of last year, we were a force to be recended with.

The pre-season contests went well, and we did okay against the bands in our region, which were not as big as the ones in the north. We had contests where there were downpours of rain, cancelations because of lightning, mudbaths on the field, and anything else you could think of. But marching band people are survivors, and don't give up. We usually made it to state every year, but there were doubts if we could make it all the way this year. We passed with flying colors, winning 1st and all the other awards. We were encouraged by this. Maybe we could win again.

State is one of the most nerve-wracking contests in the season. All of the work that you went through the past 5 or so months came down to this. As we slipped on our uniforms in the parking lot of the statium, the tubas met in our little circle. Bradley told us that we definitely had a chance to win. He ended with his signature tuba statement: "Don't **** up." They spat in the center of the circle (even me), and we headed inside the statium to get ready. Let me tell you, the feeling of walking out on the statium floor is like nothing else. The crowds of people, the cheering of our fans, and the feeling of fresh astroturf under your feet was an invigorating feeling.

Our show was amazing, the best we'd ever done. As we walked off, we smiled knowing that we had done our best. But was that good enough for our judges? It all came down to their opinion. All of the bands stood on the field as the awards ceramony started. We all held hands as the 10th, 9th, 8th awards were given. Our season had been great, our members were talented, and I prayed with all of my might that we would win.

But life does not have storybook endings. We got 4th place, losing to our northern rivals by a huge margin. We might never know why we won semi-state but lost state, but one thing is for sure: marching band has been one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I look forward to coming back as a sophomore to get some revenge.

Anyway, that was marching band this year. In the off-season, we work on solo and ensemble pieces, and other concert band stuff. My solo this year is not extremely hard, but goes up to a high G in the bass clef, which I have never attempted before until now. Mr. K really believes that I can be the next Bradley, who is sadly graduating this year, along with Nick and Alec, which brings the tuba count for marching band next year to shrink from six to two (Colin said he probably won't join next year so he can focus on other classes), me and Taylor. The future of the tubas is bleak, to say the least.

Okay, I think that is all concerning me and my band experiences. I'll update you on any new developments in my career, and I'll see you all later!


	3. IRL3: Why I'm a Choir Nerd

My choir career is not as interesting as my band career, but I might as well tell it.

I never found a real passion in singing until around 5th grade, when I signed up to be in a choir concert called Circle the State with Song (I think other US states do it too?). They send you music to practice and get together for a weekend concert. Sure, my elementary school had cute little skit programs for Christmas that had solos, but I was too chicken to ever try out for one. I was one of the shyest and quiet people in the world in those days (I'm still quiet though). For this concert, I was shoved in with at least 100 other kids, so I was anonymous, and that was completely fine with me. Along with that, I was a member of my church's kids choir, and the director was always setting me up with solos. And as my tuba career started, my lungs got to be a lot stronger and I could sing louder and longer.

In about 7th grade I finally worked up the nerve to audition for the school musical. The musical that year was 'Alice in Wonderland' and I wasn't hoping for much of a part; a small role would've been fine. Though I'm not too good of an actor, I know I at least try harder then some people. I wasn't given a role, and got put in the ensemble. Some of my peers questioned our director Mrs. H's picks and wondered why I hadn't gotten anything. But I knew. Mrs. H gave voice lessons (and expensive lessons at that) to a few kids in her choir group. Her favorite was definitely Piper, a talented soprano with a boosted ego to match. I'm not trying to throw her under the bus or anything, but Piper was given the royal treatment because she got gold awards on solos and made it into state choirs.

Uh, anyway, I digress. 8th grade for me came around, and this time I had joined the choir group. This was my first experience as an alto, because I quickly realized that with stupid puberty, my voice could not hit as high as it used to. When she had tested our ranges, Mrs. H put me as an alto. At first, it really stunk, because I didn't have a lot of experience reading treble clef music (tuba, remember?) and didn't know the pitches. I was jealous of the sopranos for getting the easy melody parts. It got easier eventually though, and loved the harmony altos made with the sopranos.

Mrs. H decided she would make an exclusive jazz choir that year for some of the more experienced choir members. I jumped at the opportunity, finally seeing a chance to show that I was more than just a puny alto. And amazingly, I got in and became one of about ten that the whole choir admired as the talented ones. I was now just as good as Piper, which was a cool feeling at the time.

Now we end at the present year, my freshman year. I signed up to take a choir as a class as soon as I saw it on the course list. I had heard the teacher who taught it was awesome too. The first day of school came, and I learned how amazing SJ was. She was a weird and spunky teacher who valued me as an important alto in our class (seriously though, all the other altos are really quiet!). It felt good to be needed, and to be challenged with harder pieces of music that were in four parts instead of two. The upperclassmen in my class were really supportive and cheered me on for being the only freshman that had the guts to sing out and be confident. Which I don't know what they're talking about; I've just got tuba lungs, that's all.

Currently, I'm working on my first ever Solo and Ensemble vocal piece (Group I too...SJ has way too much respect for me) called 'Into the Night'. It isn't hard at all; I just need to expand my range a little higher to hit the last couple notes in the song. Like I said, I'll update you on any breaking news, and I'll see you all later!


	4. IRL4: Youtube Subscriptions

Next up, I'll talk to you about Youtube, which is where I go when I'm bored or need inspiration. I would make videos myself, but I'm not really talented when it comes to editing and recording. I have three subscribers that I watch, and aw heck let me just tell you.

SkyDoesMinecraft (7.5 mil. subscribers)-You saw this coming, didn't you? He was one of the first people I subscribed to, and eventually introduced me to the other Team Crafted members. He is a Minecraft commentator that got famous for calling gold 'budder' and hating squids. He calls his subscribers the 'Sky Army' and individually 'recruits'. I jumped onto the Sky Army when he had about 3 or 4 million subs, so still pretty early. My first experience watching him was a parkour map called 'Dungeon Runner' that he played with Kermit and Deadlox. I like him for his random humor and upbeat attitude. I felt sympathy and got attached to him when he posted his 'Real Talk' video where he talked about his rough childhood and how he battled depression. He's a pretty good guy, and I look forward to videos every day.

PewDiePie (20 mil. subscribers!)- Honestly, if you go on Youtube, it's hard not to notice PewDiePie. He is a video game commentator from Sweden (you'll notice him swear in Swedish sometimes). He made his channel famous for his play throughs of Amnesia and creating his iconic characters like Stephano and his arch enemies the Barrels. His personality is quirky, and every one of his videos is almost guaranteed to make you smile (or keel over laughing, your pick). He ends off each video by giving you a fist-bump which he calls a 'bro-fist' (thus calling his subscribers the Bro Army). Recently, he has branched off from horror games and does a wide variety of video game genres from the scary to the downright weird.

ThePianoGuys (2.4 mil. subscribers)- I've always been a fan of classical music, but these guys make it fun. They do remakes of popular songs using piano and cello. They might be a bunch of middle-aged men from Utah, but their spirit and playfulness (they call it ADHD) is addictive. I especially liked their Star Wars video where they used the cello bows as lightsabers.


	5. IRL5: Unfair Tuba Life

WARNING: This originally started out as just an update chapter, but turned out to be so much more.

I find it funny that minutes after I post a chapter in my story, I constantly check it to see if somebody reviewed (I do the same with Facebook statuses). I can't be the only one, right?

Like I had said, here are some updates on what is happening in my uneventful life. In concert band, I am sadly bored to tears because the music is ridiculously easy; I should have seen it coming. I technically could be in the advanced band right now, but it is too small for an additional third tuba. Mr. G already yells at Bradley and Taylor for being too loud. When Bradley graduates this year though, I'm pretty much guarantied, Mr. K says. That's the scary part too; when Bradley's gone, I'll have to fill his shoes. And they are HUGE. Mr. K thinks I'm the next Bradley, but he needs to understand that I'm not his reincarnation; I have limits.

Many people don't acknowledge the things tubas have to deal with. The fact that they are ignored most of the time is bad enough. For one thing, (minus baritones and those huge woodwinds) other instruments don't have to worry about whether you have a big enough car to transport your instrument in. They don't think about the heavy, space-stealing case you have to carry around and pretend your hands are not on fire from holding it so long. And sure, concert band tuba music is full of whole notes, but once you are given a solo, you are slapped with music going from a low F to a high G, sixteenth notes,(that's mine this year...I just might cry...) The contrast is insane. Mr. K wants people to know that tubas can actually do stuff, and uses Bradley as a prime example. And guess what? Since it will be just me and Taylor next year, I'M NEXT. I don't think I can take this pressure...*sobs in a corner from stress*

And I'm back. So yeah, tubas have it rough. But hey, at least we get 'Hey Baby', right?


	6. IRL6: Pokemon Obsession

I will now confess a hobby that I've had since I was very young: Pokemon.

I pretty much grew up with Pokemon; me and my sisters were obsessed with it and begged to get trading cards every time we went to Walmart. My poor mother... Back in the good old Gameboy days, I had a Pikachu Gameboy (it was the greatest thing ever) and Pokemon LeafGreen was my game of choice. Sadly, I did lose that GB, and still to this day have no idea where it went (I had a lv. 80 Venasaur on there too!)

For some reason, my siblings and I had an unspoken agreement that I would always pick the grass types, my little sister the water types, and my older sister the fire types. Though I do like Turtwig and Treecko, I've grown out of grass types because of how vulnerable they can be. Fire-types are way better. :)

My all-time favorite game would have to be either Platinum or Explorers of Time, simply because those were the games I played most as a kid (I still have them and are fully complete). Honestly, if you didn't cry at the end of Explorers of Time and Darkness, you must have no heart. I was sobbing my eyes out the first time.

My favorite Pokemon? Aw...that's such a hard decision. I'll just list the ones I like the most: Riolu, Grovyle, Pichu, Furret, Chimchar, and Ledian.

As you can see, Pokemon was an important part of my childhood, as it brought my sisters (and some of my friends) together. I don't fangirl over it like I used to, but I will occasionally pull out my old DS and play a little just to relive the glory days.


	7. IRL7: Marching Band FAIL

Now I'll tell you guys some of my funny (and sometimes slightly embarrassing) marching band mess-ups.

As a freshman, I counted falling 3 times (which is 3 times too many if you ask me). This is probably why I might not get a bigger marching tuba next season. Giving a heavy piece of metal worth more than my life to a scatterbrained clutz such as me was not to smartest idea to start with. My first fall was on the practice before my first-ever contest. Not exactly a good way to kick things off. It was during a fast move where the tubas go double time backwards in a diagonal line. It was extremely hot outside, and we'd been out for an hour already and on the verge of a water break. My concentration lapsed for a split second, and I tripped. I landed on my knees, and the bell of my tuba bumped the ground. My legs were wobbly as I tried to get up, but luckily, I made my spot on time. The second and third times weren't any better, and the third caused a huge dent in the bell that is still there and probably will be forever.

Oh yeah, and this one time at band camp (haha), we were practicing in the football stadium, and my water key (spit valve) fell off. We didn't find it until later, but during that time, I couldn't play without sounding like an fat, agitated bumblebee.

Another slightly embarrassing event that happened was in one of the last moves in our show in one of our later contests. There were two rows, one going one direction and the second going the opposite. All while sprinting sideways. For some weird reason, all of the tubas were in the first row, and I was in the second behind them. Well, at the contest, everything was going well, until I found out I was a step closer than I should've been to the front row. Little known fact: when marching a tuba, the back of the instrument takes up AT LEAST a two feet of room behind you. Same goes with the front. Like I said, I was too far up, and the front of my bell collided with the back of one of the other tubas. This one happened to be a Alec, the short and crazy senior. Well, the hit was loud, and threw us both off, but we managed to get back in rhythm and end the show. Let me tell you, when you get in a senior's way during a show, YIKES. I definitely got a talking to afterwards (more like screaming to). You'd think that after this, I'd remember to stay back, right? Well, it happened at state too, just with a different person. Apparently I never learn. I'm still a freshman though, and hopefully next year I can keep my fails to a minimum.


End file.
